Aeroplane.



R. P. HALL.

ABROPLANE.

. APPLICATION PILBI) 1330.19, 1910.

Patented Oct. 3, 1911 2in/mozo R. P. HALL.

ABROPLANB. l APPLICATION FILED DEO.19, 1910. v

1,005,026. A Patented-001. 3, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MW 5 1 @mfg/m 11. P. HALL. AEROPLANB. APPLICATION FILED DEO. 19, l9l0 Patented '0013. 3, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

R. P. HALL.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED Bmw, 1910.

Patented 0013.3, 17911.

L w J W. m .M4 @uw WH UNiTED srainmsgiainnr oFmoE.

ROBERT P.IHALL, OF SEARCHLIGHT, NEVADA.

AEROPLANE.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT P. HALL, a

citizen ofthe United States, residing at Searchlight, in the county of Clark and State of evada, have invented new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to flying machines of the heavier-than-air type, the objects of the invention being to provide a. machine having sutlicient lifting capacity to support the weight of its load and a limited amount of freight or number of passengers; t-o provide simple and effective means for steering the machine vertically and horizontally; to provide means for automatically balancing and maintaining the lateral stability of the machine; and to provide a parachute attachment for insuring a safe landing in the event of damage to the propelling' means and supporting surface of the machine.

The invention consists of the features oficonstruction, combination and arrangement or parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being ,had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan View, omitting certain parts, of a flying machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2. is a horizontal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the irregular line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a Vertical transverse section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 'is a section through the collapsed telescopic parachutestaif. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of one of the winding drums controlling the parachute cords.4

The main frame ofthe machine may be of any suitable construction, but 'as shown includes in its illustrated organization outer and inner bow-shaped members 1 and 2 connected at the top with front and rear rails 3 and 4, end rails 5, and suitable cross pieces t3. The inner or intermediate bowshaped members 2 form bearings for the ends of shafts 7 carrying wheels or rollers 8 to run upon the ground in launching and landing. These wheels are preferably equipped, as usual, with pneumatic tires which normally.. project below the plane of j the base surfaces of the outer bow-shaped members "1. Whem however, the wheels 8 strike the earth with sufficient force to flatten the tires to an appreciable extent, the base surfaces of the members 1 come in contact with the surface of theI ground Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 19, 1910.

Patented Oct. 3, 1911.

Serial No. 597,975.

and act as skids or runners to assist in .ab-i

sorbing the shocks and ars and to support the machine in a stable manner.

The portions 3, 4, 5 and G support the mai-n flotation plane or 'supporting surface 9 of the machine, which may be composed of fabric stretched over suitable ribs 9 forming part of an upper main frame section .composed of front and rear bars. 3 and 4 and cross pieces connected with the main frame by uprights 9a4 and. 9b. The plane or surface 9 may be of any proper curvature from front to rearfor the aerodynamical reaction of the air thereon, but in any eventl preferably has its forward portion concavoconvexly curved to present a concaved compression side or surface 10 and a convex rarefaction surface 11. The arc of curva- Parallel bars 12 project from the' frontV of the main frame and are connected by one or more cross pieces 13 to form a support for a horizont-al rudder 14, the shaft 15 of which rudder is journaled toturn in suitable bearings 16, on which the rudder hasmovement in a vertical plane. A crank arm 17 is connected with the rudder shaft and coupled by a link rod 18 with a pivoted operating'lever 19, arranged at one side of the'pilots seat 20, whereby upon shifting the lever in one direction or the other the Vrudder may be adjusted to guide the machine'upward and downward. The lever is 21 to engage a rack 22 on the frame by which the rudder may befixed in any of its positions of adjustment.

stabilizing wings 23 are arrangedat the front marginal edges of the supporting surface adjacent to the lateral margin thereof. Each of these wings includes aframe portion 24 hinged to the main frame, as at 25,' to swingin a vertical plane. and provided Aprovided witha spring-actuated dog or pawl with a depending right angular'portion 26 l 45 to etfect a depression of such side of the provided with a transverse slot 27. Journaled on the main frame are two segments 28, the shaftsA 29 of which carry. cams or eccentrics'30`whch operate in the slotted portions 27y to swing the stabilizing wings 1n an upward and downward direction. 'lhecamamember 30 of one segment is arranged on one side ofthe shaft thereof, while the cam member of thegother segment is' arranged on the reverse side of its shaft, so

'that a swinging movement of both segments in the same general direction will result in an upward-swinging movement being parted to onewing while a corresponding ldownward swinging movement is imparted to the other wing. The segments engage fthe rack toothed ends Stof a bar 32 mount- ,ed ,to .slide transversely of the machine in suitable guides 33,' some of which lmay be .provided with friction rollers 34. 'i Suitable 'mechanism is provided for automatically shifting the bar inone direction to the other'when the lateral balance of the ma'- chine lis disturbed to adjust the stabilizing wings to effect a restoration of the mach-ine v, to a normal horizontal position. As shown in the resent instance, the central portion of the ar is rack toothed, as at 35, to engage i I `a toothed segment 36 upon the upper end of a" lever 37 pivoted at 38 to swing in a direction .laterally of the machine, said leverv having its lower 'end arranged to move in a suitable'arcuate guide member 39 and carrying a Weight 40. The leverthusv acts in the nature-of a endulum or gravity-controlled ymember which maintains a vertical position' whenI the machine tiltsv laterally' in either direction' and thus vsets up a relative motion to shift the bar 32 laterally in one dilrection or thev other to adjust 4the stabilizing wings. It will be vunderstood vthat through the action of the automatic controlling ymechanism the wing at the 'elevated side of the machine will be swung upward machine while the wingat the opposite side "of the machine will beV swungdownward to .eifect theelevation of such side of the machine, by which the machine will be automatically restored to normal osition and the lateral balance at all times in the opera.

tion of the machine. preservedu i The propelling mechanism comprises sets or. series of propellers 4l arranged on opposite sides ofthe longitudinalcen'ter of the vmachine, the propellers of 'each series being set one in rear of the'other and out of alinement with each. other in order that each propeller may, as far as practicable, operate upon undisturbed air. As each propeller and its supporting means is of the, same construction as all theothers, a description of one will apply to all. Eachpropeller shaft "46 is journaled in a box 45 which, as shown in Fig. 2, is secured upon a slotted frame 42,

that is supported and adapted to slide 'on a pair of parallel wires' 43, whose outer ends are attached tothe ends 5 of the main frame and whose inner ends are connected by turnbuclrles 44, vso that they may be kept taut. The said wires 43 are supported intermediately of theirends by cross bars 44, through which they pass. The blades 47 and 48 are arranged at right angles to each other and in 4 front andl rear, respectively, of the propeller support. The bearing boxes are slotted for the accommodation of grooved pulleys 49 one of which is mounted upon each shaft 46. The cross pieceat the inner end of the propeller frame is apertured for the sov shaft,of which are mounted main driving drums or pulleys 57. r From each of these drums a flexible driving band," belt or chain 58 extends 4over suitable guide pulleys 59,

60, 6l and 62 to the groove pulleys 49 of the shaft of the propeller-s at each side of the frame, each transmission belt being looped and continuous so as to impart a positive driving motionl to the set of propellers connected therewith in the same direction simultaneously. By the described arrangement of the two sets of propellers on oppositesides of the longitudinal eenter` of the machine, the propellers may be made to rotate in reverse directions to drive the machine in a common direction with .the etfect of securing a gyroscoliic action or opposing resistance on opposite sides of the line of iiight to prevent deflection of either side of the machine from the path of travel, so that. any tendency of` either side of the machine to be retarded in motion when the opposite sides of the machine are subjected to variable resistances will be overcome.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that the tendency of the trans- .mission belts to pull the tubular propeller frames inwardly will be counteractcd by the springs54, and that said springs will accordingly yat all times force said propeller `frames outwardly 'to take up the slack in the vbelts and maintain the same taut. By means of the screws the collars may be adjusted to regulate the resistance ofl the springs and to increase their pressure on the propeller supports and slide them outwardly to take up any undue amount of slack in the belts. 4

In order to insure the safe descent of the machine inthecvent of serious injury to the motor, prcpellers or supporting surface,

the rod section 65 is secured to a parachute bag or apron G8 which is adapted to be folded into a box or casing 69 mountedupon the top of the supporting surface9, through which box or casing and the said supporting surface 9 extends thestatl', as shown..

To the edges of the bag or apron are attached cords 70 which pass over suitable guide pulleys 7l and through openings in the bottom of the box and are connected with spring actuated winding drums or rollers 72 normally acting to wind up'said cord and hold the bas or apron in al collapsed condition. ppositely swinging doors 73 are provided. to close the box or casing 69, and the meeting edges of these doors are notched to provide an opening 74; for the passage of the parachute stall. 1When the parte' are in normal position, the closed doors hold the staff collapsed, the rod sections 64 and 65 being freed for extension upon the release of the doors by the action of the springs'it-S and 67, so that the parachute apron will be forced out of the casing and partially elevated thereby, the pressure of the air beneath the partially unfolded apron serving in conjunction with the springs to open the apron to its fullest extent, wherebyA the descent of the machine will be checked. The doors are provided with keepers 75 to receive a spring actuated locking bolt 76 connected with a looped cord or cable 77 connected with an operating cord 77 passing downward over suitable guide pulleys 78 to a controlling lever 7 9 arranged so as to be operated by the aviator to release the bolt. The rod section 65 is held from movement by the doors until the bolt is retracted, `whereupon the parts will be released and the parachute outspread to allov.7 the machine to descend slowly to the surface of the ground insuring safety in the event of stoppage of the fnotor and dama 'e to the supporting surface. Each drum 72 is preferably of the construction shown in Fig. 7, being re'volubly mounted on a sta-y tionary shaft 72a having a hollow end head 72b inclosing a coiled spring 7 2c fixed at one vend to the shaft and at its opposite end to `thel head.

The uprights-or standards 9b`are arranged at opposite sides of the platform 55 and eX- tend upwardly therefrom to the frame of the supporting surface, said standards being `suitably spaced apart, as shown. Through these spaces circulation is 'afforded under no1-mal conditions, but, in order to close said spaces during inclement weather, spring curtains or shields 80 may be provided and mounted upon the standards in such a manner as to be drawn open and secured to close the spaces between the standards, thusl pro tecting the aviator, motor, 'and parts of the machinery from rain, hail, snow, etc. j

Projecting from the rear end of the main frame and reinforced therefrom -by bracesI 8l is a rear rudder frame 82 divided into' central and opposite side spacesby partition bars 83. In the central space of this frame is arranged a rear horizontal rudder 84 mounted upon a horizontal shaft 85.]'ournaledl in the partition bars. To this shaft is fined-an arm 8G connected by a cord 87 with a lever 88 arranged adjacent ,the pilots seat which lever is similar in all respects in construction and operation with the lever By means of the levers 19 and 88 the f 19. two horizontal rudders may be adjusted in unison or independently of one another', as desired. ln the side spaces of the frame 86 are disposed rudders 89 in the form of blades movable between the horizontal and yals vertical for steering the machine in a horizontal plane.' Each blade is provided at its outer end, adjacent its outer edge, with a trunnion 90 journaled in the frame 82 and at its inner end, adjacent its inner edge, with. a trunnion 91 journaled in and extending through a bearing 92 and coupled by a gimbal joint 93 to the rear end of a rod or shaft 94. The forward end of this rod or shaft is journaled in and extends through a bearing 95 and is provided with a head 96. Feathered to slide upon and rotate with the projecting end 4of said shaft, between the .bearing 95 and head 96 is a handwheel 97 having an actuating crank 98, and about the shaft betwen the head and hub of the wheel is a coiled expansion spring 99. The bearing and hub of the wheel are-provided with toothed clutch faces, whereby the fvheel is normally held by the spring fixed to the bearing to prevent rotation of the 'wheel and shaft. By sliding the wheel foriis both of them downwardly to a greater or less degree they will be adjusted to lie at an vangle to t-hefline of flight, to steer the ma chine in one'dirtion or the other. Pref erably one rudder is used for steering to the right and the otheiI for steering to the left, for which they are peculiarly adapted asa result of their peculiar modeof mounting, but both may be adjusted simultaneously 'when strong sidecurrents of air are encountered tol prevent skidding of the. ma-

Having thus described the invention, I claim: l. A iiying machine comprising a'frame,

' a supporting surface, stabilizing wings pivoted for vertical movement'at the -front of the supporting surface, a slldmg rack, gear elements :actuated by the rack, automatic means consisting of` a pivoted Weighted swinging lever which is controlled by the tilting of the machine for sliding the rack,

.rack, gear elements actuated by the rack,

automatic means controlling the tilting of the machine for sliding t-he rack, and cam devices actuated by said gear elements for' lsimultaneously adjusting the Wings in,o posite directions upon the movement of't e rack in either direction..

3; A'iiying 4machine comprising a frame, 35,.

a supporting surface, stabilizing Wings pivoted" for vertical movementat the front edge of the supporting surface, slotted -are col vapsed by said doors, springs for eX- tending the staif sections, a-parachute apron lcarried by the staff and adapted to be folded in the casing, Winding drums, cords connecting saidv drums with the free edges of the apron, a locking bolt for -holding the doors closed, and means for; releasing said bolt. y

5. In a iiying machine, a main frame having a supporting surface, a propellingmechanism, a-rear frame having central and side spaces, a vertical steering rudder pivotally mounted 1n the central'space, means for operatmg the same, horizontal steering rudders pivotally mounted in the side spaces to swing downward at an angle to the line of iiight, said rudders having inner trunnions forming cranks, rods jointed to said cranks, and means-for turning saidrods.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature inpresenee of two Witnesses.

.ROBERT P. HALL.

Witnesses:

CHAs. D. JONES, L. W. GoDIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive'cen'ts each,'by ,auuressxng the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

